First and only early edition of this fascinating work on wines and wine-making. Prospero Rendella (1553-1630) was a jurist and the author of works on property law, oil, doves and forests. Like these last, Tractatus de vinea on vines, wine-making and wines shows Rendella s interest in agricultural customs and practice, and the varieties and trade of local products, with special attention to southern Italy, where he resided. After a brief introduction of the allegorical meanings ( hieroglyphicum ) of the vine, the first part proceeds to examine practicalities related to vineyards, e.g., the work of viticulture, legal rights of the vine-cultivator against grazing animals or human damage to his plants, and practices (including magic) to quieten divine phenomena like thunderstorms, a short section on plant diseases, the care of vines and their various species. The second part, on wine-making, discusses the practice, equipment and timing of the harvest (including traditional songs and the priest s blessing), ways to foresee a good harvest, how to store wine (in buildings that should be blessed), and a list of 82 questions on sundry subjects, including the purchase of vineyards and feudal law. The third part discusses wine-making in the area of Naples and Puglia, identifying dozens of local wines (e.g., sorbinum, lacrima, pomeianum, lanciaguerra), and with a section on the naming of wines, the wine trade, and the secular and religious uses of wine. A remarkably interesting, clear and concise encyclopaedia of C17 wine-making.
